Memories of the Southern Civil Rights Movement

by Danny Lyon

Photographs and text chronicle the activities of Black students in the civil rights movement

Genres: Photography, History, Nonfiction, Art

192 pages, Paperback

First published December 12, 1991

Reviews

[RuthAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned about Danny Lyon from the March graphic novels, so I searched my library to see if they had any of his photo collections and found this one. There are essays throughout the book, but I basically skimmed the photos. I really appreciated how gritty they are, and that they depict regular people, not just the stars of the movement, and almost everyone is named in captions.

[Dustyloup · Rating 5 out of 5]

very important book documenting the civil rights movement, not centered around King and Rosa Parks. it's a good reminder that yeah the big events & key figures will be remembered, but they couldn't have happened without the everyday bravery of ordinary people.
unfortunately wasn't able to read all of it bc I had to give it back to the person who loaned it to me. not the greatest writing but good source material examples

[Drew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned a great deal about the civil rights movement, especially about the early ‘60’s, through the photographs and narratives in this book. I had erroneous labeled SNCC (students Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) as a terrorist-type organization. Instead it supplied the passion, young idealistic and bold leadership, and young men and young women who were willing to put their lives at risk (many in fact died) to enable Martin Luther King, Jr. and others to get the Voting Rights Acts passed. In my eyes, many were true, unsung heroes.

[Diann Blakely]

While I've written about many photographic catalogs and collections, but this title seems particularly appropriate in this 50th anniversary year of the Freedom Riders’ initial forays into the South; the foreword by Julian Bond, whom I saw just last night on CNN discussing Obama and Black Liberation Theology--i.e. Rev. Jeremiah Wright--offers a beautifully written and wrenching foreword, and as for other recommendations, who am I to argue with what follows, especially after having learned some of the more amusingly determined aspects of Congressman Lewis's character in Endesha Ida Mae Holland's memoir (http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...)?

A not “In the summer of 1962, Danny Lyon packed a Nikon Reflex and an old Leica in an army bag and hitchhiked south. Within a week he was in jail in Albany, Georgia, looking through the bars at another prisoner, Martin Luther King, Jr. Lyon soon became the first staff photographer for the Atlanta-based Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), which already had a reputation as one of the most committed and confrontational groups fighting for civil rights.

"This young white New Yorker came South with a camera and a keen eye for history. And he used these simple, elegant gifts to capture the story of one of the most inspiring periods in America’s twentieth century."
- US Congressman, John Lewis

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Danny Lyon graduated from The University of Chicago and went south and worked with Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee as a photographer. SNCC was one of the first civil rights movements in the South. Great photos, and good details of some of the meetings. Also, good memory jogs of folks like Julian Bond, John Lewis (Andy Goodman, Mickey Schwerner, and James Chaney) Stokely Carmichael and many others. More importantly, it was realizing how hard the struggle was, and how people uniting together could help overcome some huge societal ills (Goodman, Shwerner and Chaney gave their lives). I hope we don't have to work this hard going forward, but some of the selections for cabinet positions give serious pause.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

great stories and pictures from the photographer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) from 1962-1964 in Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi

[Trayonna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great historical book that I recommended is Memories Of The Southern Civil Rights
Movement this book takes place in the year 1962. A man named Danny Lyon a black
Photojournalist traveled to the south to capture and document the Civil Rights Movement.
Then later found himself in Albany Georgia in the same jail as Martin Luther King Jr.
Danny was present during the most impacting and violent moments during the civil rights.
Danny talks about and shows these moments throughout the book. This book takes you inside the movement.
This book is filled with a bunch of emotion. In this novel, there are pictures and examples of how
black and white people got treated differently. For example, in the book, there is a picture of
two water fountains one for the blacks and one for the whites in this picture it is obvious
the white people's water fountain is better than the blacks. Under this pictures is says
“Segregated drinking fountains in the county courthouse in Albany, Georgia. Also, there is a
a picture in this book of Martin Luther King Jr and Reverend Ralph Abernathy being escorted
back to jail in Albany. There are tons of pictures just like this one throughout the book. Again I
highly recommend this novel. Reading this book has taught me new things about the Civil Rights Movement that I didn't know or had no idea happened. If you are seeking to learn more about the civil rights movement, this is the one for you.

[Trudy Ferrer · Rating 5 out of 5]

this should rest on everybody’s shelf...